{"id":24358,"date":"2020-07-15T17:59:44","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T16:59:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=24358"},"modified":"2023-01-09T21:45:05","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T21:45:05","slug":"saving-money-on-magazines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=24358","title":{"rendered":"Saving Money On Magazines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A couple of years ago I was having a clear out and I was amazed at the number of magazines I\u2019d collected over the years. They were mainly my Classic Rock mags, and part of my decision to have a clear out was that I\u2019d been getting more and more disillusioned with that particular publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, I was on an annual subscription, but Planet Rock had just launched its own magazine and that did exactly what it said on the tin \u2013 it covered rock<\/strong> music. Classic Rock acquired a new editor, and she made it clear in her introductory piece what she was planning. Subsequently, any rock music they covered had<\/strong> to include at least half female acts \u2013 meaning it became obscure and far from \u2018classic\u2019, at best \u2013 and they also decided that (as just one example) Depeche Mode somehow ticked both the \u2018classic\u2019 and \u2018rock\u2019 boxes at the same time (actually, they decided twice in the space of just a couple of months with that one example). Then they did their \u2018best 100 female artists of all time\u2019 issue, and necessarily had to include non-rock genres to fill it out. That was it from me, and I cancelled my sub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before any feminists start frothing at the mouth over this, I go to see lots of female artists and bands with female members. I actually seek them out if I hear them on Planet Rock and like the sound. Like Samantha Fish, Haim, Paramore, Evanescence, Courtney Love, Joanne Shaw Taylor, The Lounge Kittens\u2026 I just don\u2019t need any feminist magazine editors trying to filter out the men for me. And if you don\u2019t like the fact that I don\u2019t like that fact, click the back button and piss off somewhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planet Rock mag suits me fine, but when the lockdown came along, it also came with a lot of extra time for reading and finding tips on how to do stuff I wouldn\u2019t have otherwise had time for. And going out to buy magazines wasn\u2019t an option \u2013 even if it would have been of benefit with the \u2018current\u2019 issue on sale (you usually need a series of them).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, as a result of my quest to find some authentic German food recipes, I came across a subscription service called Readly<\/a>. It carries \u2013 and this is no exaggeration \u2013 thousands<\/strong> of UK titles. They\u2019re all the ones you see on the newsstands (and many you don\u2019t), from TV Times, OK!, Hello!, through all the photography and amateur DIY magazines, through to music and musicians (including Classic Rock). They cover specialist computer and technology subjects, gaming, weddings, cycling, fishing, horse riding, pets\u2026 everything (but no<\/strong> X-rated adult stuff). Including back issues, too, which multiplies the content by at least ten. And as I already implied, they have similar numbers of publications from Europe, Asia, and America. They\u2019ve also recently started including newspapers, though it\u2019s only The Independent and Evening Standard right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n